


Striding the Storm

by unbreakable13



Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Book 02: Words of Radiance, Book 02: Words of Radiance Spoilers, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 08:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20373538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbreakable13/pseuds/unbreakable13
Summary: A slight reimagining of my favorite scene from Stormlight Archive. Words of Radiance, Chapter 74 – Striding the storm. This is Kaladin and Shallan in the alcove in the chasms during the highstorm. The first and last line of the fic are directly from the book, so you know where I place it within that chapter (it replaces the last part of their conversation before they see the Stormfather).





	Striding the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, this is my first attempt at writing anything. And the reason I was compelled to write this was, even after the end of Oathbringer, my heart was still stuck with Kaladin and Shallan in the chasms. I was looking to find if someone else had written something like this, but I couldn’t find it, so I decided to do it myself. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it and I would love to hear any feedback.

Almighty above. This woman was stronger than he’d ever been.

Shallan fell silent. He knew there was more to her story, how she had ended up meeting Jasnah Kholin and then eventually here in the Shattered Plains, away from her home and her brothers, who seemed to be too important to her to leave behind. But Kaladin did not want to push her or ask questions. He understood, only too well, that silence was often the only companion the pain would allow. 

Lost in her own thoughts, Shallan gave an involuntary shudder. Kaladin tightened his grip around her, pulling her closer, not that it was possible for them to be any closer to each other in the small space. But he could think of no other way of offering her comfort. Words, he knew, would fail. He felt Shallan move in his arms, looking up towards him. A flash of lightening suddenly illuminated her face. The anguish in her eyes he had seen earlier in the chasms, was back. He wanted to see the brilliant smile that had followed the last time, but it did not come, as they were plunged back into darkness. 

Kaladin leaned forward till their foreheads were resting against each other. She did not pull away. The sounds of the raging highstorm surrounding them were loud, but he thought he could still hear her ragged breaths as they fell upon his cheeks. And there it was again, the awareness that how close she was to him, in her current state of undress, their bodies wrapped around each other more intimately than could ever be considered appropriate. But she did not appear to be uncomfortable with their closeness. The warmth of her breath was pulling at him. He leaned in just a little further until his lips were almost touching hers. He hesitated. Was he allowed to do this? Before he could decide, Shallan closed the gap between them, her lips colliding with his in a rush. 

Kaladin forgot to breathe. Their mouths moved together, and he forgot everything. The highstorm winds outside, the violent water flowing inches away from their alcove, the pain in his leg. All he could feel was Shallan pressed against him. Her lips were unimaginably soft, but her kisses were more passionate than he was prepared for. His body had no trouble keeping up though. Every movement of hers was complemented by him instinctively, there was no need to think. Just feeling was enough. Despite his time with Tarah, he had been unaware that just the act of kissing someone could decimate his senses so completely. He dug his fingers harder into Shallan’s sides and pushed his tongue into her mouth. 

\--

Shallan forgot to breathe. Kaladin’s strong arms were crushing her to him. It still did not feel like tight enough. For all the intensity he walked around with, in these moments he felt unexpectedly gentle, his each movement starting out hesitantly. It made Shallan even more reckless. She somehow got her freehand into his hair. The tangled mess of curls felt good in her fingers. She was probably pulling them too hard, but she could not clear her mind enough to control what her body was doing.

When their tongues met, it was almost too much for Shallan to take. But the thought of moving away from him seemed even more unbearable. She pushed her mouth harder against his, needing the taste of his mouth on her tongue. But he broke the kiss, turning his head to the side, gasping for breath. Shallan was surprised to find how out of breath she herself was. The awareness of her surroundings came back to her and the cold wind made her shiver. Kaladin turned back towards her, resting his head against hers. They were still breathing hard, her fingers was still tangled up in his hair. She did not want to let go. 

What was she doing? Had her sanity and rationality completely left her? She did not want to think about Adolin, but he inadvertently popped up into her mind. She felt pained, he deserved better than this. He deserved better than her. Kaladin noticed the way her breathing hitched and she realized he was about to say something. She brought her fingers down from his hair to his mouth to stop him before he could form the words. She wasn't ready to break the silence between them yet. He didn’t try to speak again, instead he placed a gentle kiss on the fingers covering his mouth. Shallan closed her eyes. This small touch of his lips sent a warm sensation from her fingertips to the rest of her body. Had she ever felt anything so exquisite?

Would Adolin ever hold her like this if he knew what she had done? Who she really was? Did it really matter? Would she survive this night anyway? She could feel Kaladin's breath on her fingers and she tried to pace her own breathing to his, willing herself to calm down. Maybe she needed him to talk again, distract her not from the noise of the storm, but the noise inside her head. Kaladin slowly spoke, just loud enough for her to hear, “You'll be alright”. Shallan wanted to say, “You'll be alright too”, to return the kindness of his words. But she could not get herself to say it when she did not know how anyone could find the path to being alright in this world. Shoving aside all thoughts, Shallan pulled Kaladin’s mouth to hers once more. 

\--

The kisses felt different to Kaladin this time. Their mouths moved more softly, the sensations inside him more gentle. Her safehand had been tightly gripping the side of his coat since they had first settled down together. Trusting in his arms around her, she let go of the coat and slowly moved her safehand up his chest, to the side of his face. He was acutely aware of the delicate fingers against his skin, a single layer of fabric between them, her thumb slowly stroking his jaw. The way her other hand was buried in his hair only made him want to do the same to her beautiful, fiery locks that were tickling his face as they kissed, but he couldn’t risk loosening his grip around her. It was the only thing keeping Shallan securely in place inside the alcove. 

Kaladin did not want this to end. Storms! He would sit here with a broken leg in the middle of a highstorm everyday if it meant he could have Shallan holding him like this, kissing him like this. He would —

Kaladin blinked. Shallan was gone.


End file.
